JK Rowlings on being a single mum

Given that J K Rowling remains a fully trained jobbing waitress, she deserves all the credit she can muster for her proficiency as both a fully trained jobbing waitress and single mother. Sadly, of course, she remains an untrained author, and cannot really offer any competence on the issue of authoring any book.

Once she goes back to school, studies, achieves a few GCSE's under her belt, makes the grade for A Levels, etc etc, then after finishing College and University, and once she is accepted by a Publishing House where any writing that she offers is conducted under the supervision of a Professional Editor, then once she makes the grade, she may find that anyone who buys who books may respect her as a Professional Author.

But, until such time, J K Rowling will remain a fully skilled jobbing waitress.

She created the best teenage/young persons series in YEARS. And made a total mint from it. She's a billionaire, (and if I remember correctly, richer than the royals) she might be an untrained author and I'm not claiming she's comparable to Austen but she's creative, clever and hardworking.

She has a degree, btw. In English if I'm not mistaken

, are you a troll? Or did Harry Potter not end with your favourite characters getting together in the epilogue?

I hope you're on wind up because if not....you need to relax...seriously, chill out dude.

Given that J K Rowling remains a fully trained jobbing waitress, she deserves all the credit she can muster for her proficiency as both a fully trained jobbing waitress and single mother. Sadly, of course, she remains an untrained author, and cannot really offer any competence on the issue of authoring any book.

Once she goes back to school, studies, achieves a few GCSE's under her belt, makes the grade for A Levels, etc etc, then after finishing College and University, and once she is accepted by a Publishing House where any writing that she offers is conducted under the supervision of a Professional Editor, then once she makes the grade, she may find that anyone who buys who books may respect her as a Professional Author.

But, until such time, J K Rowling will remain a fully skilled jobbing waitress.

With about £700 million in the bank (that she earned herself) so I doubt she or her kids are worried whether you think she is an author or a waitress.

Well, her success rate suggests otherwise. JK Rowling aside, there are several routes other than academia to becoming a successful, published author. As someone with three degrees (two higher), I can only wish for the success and determination JK Rowling has had. Also, 'professional' writing can be very dull, with all the life and creativity leached out of it. The literary world has many domains and these are built from different styles, formats and genres. Finally, as a writer, you've either got 'it' or you haven't. JK has 'it' in spades. Admittedly, her writing isn't to everyone's tastes but it has drawn in and enthralled millions, globally, which is something of an achievement, to say the least.

It would be a terrible shame if the only kinds of writing deemed 'professional' came out of universities. Some of the smartest people I know haven't been to uni.

As for the 'jobbing waitress' analogy, there is no shame in being a jobbing waitress. JK Rowling has perhaps been that and much, much more throughout her life.

Am full of admiration for the woman and what she has achieved.

Absolutely. I've never read HP books so have no idea how good a writer she is but, the fact is, she's created something that appeals to the book reading public and good luck to her.

She's managed to get a lot of kids reading who may not have done without her books so that in itself is something she should be applauded for.

Agree with Lexi as well, despite her massive wealth, she seems to have put her money where her mouth is an remained true to who she is and what she believes in. Again, this is to her credit

Given that J K Rowling remains a fully trained jobbing waitress, she deserves all the credit she can muster for her proficiency as both a fully trained jobbing waitress and single mother. Sadly, of course, she remains an untrained author, and cannot really offer any competence on the issue of authoring any book.

Once she goes back to school, studies, achieves a few GCSE's under her belt, makes the grade for A Levels, etc etc, then after finishing College and University, and once she is accepted by a Publishing House where any writing that she offers is conducted under the supervision of a Professional Editor, then once she makes the grade, she may find that anyone who buys who books may respect her as a Professional Author.

But, until such time, J K Rowling will remain a fully skilled jobbing waitress.

She is educated to degree level in any case, and was an English (language) teacher in Portugal IIRC before her marriage breakdown and subsequent problems. You don't need to be "formally trained" be a writer. Some are (via MAs etc), but it's not always the best thing, depending on your intended market. If you want to be a bestseller your work has to appeal to a lot of people, and hers did. She worked hard, showed determination, and was eventually picked up by Bloomsbury. A Real Publishing House (with Real Editors, although I concede perhaps a bit of cutting down could have been done on later vols).

Good for her, I say.

Y'know, bitterness combined with pomposity is never attractive. You won't go far...

Given that J K Rowling remains a fully trained jobbing waitress, she deserves all the credit she can muster for her proficiency as both a fully trained jobbing waitress and single mother. Sadly, of course, she remains an untrained author, and cannot really offer any competence on the issue of authoring any book.

Once she goes back to school, studies, achieves a few GCSE's under her belt, makes the grade for A Levels, etc etc, then after finishing College and University, and once she is accepted by a Publishing House where any writing that she offers is conducted under the supervision of a Professional Editor, then once she makes the grade, she may find that anyone who buys who books may respect her as a Professional Author.

But, until such time, J K Rowling will remain a fully skilled jobbing waitress.

I did mean to add to my post earlier but ran out of time.

I feel you need to look up the definition of author, nowhere does it say that to be an author you require certain qualifications and if you write a book and its published then you are indeed an author and bearing in mind how many books and the sales I think we can assume she is a competent one at that.

Absolutely. I've never read HP books so have no idea how good a writer she is but, the fact is, she's created something that appeals to the book reading public and good luck to her.

She's managed to get a lot of kids reading who may not have done without her books so that in itself is something she should be applauded for.

Agree with Lexi as well, despite her massive wealth, she seems to have put her money where her mouth is an remained true to who she is and what she believes in. Again, this is to her credit

Honestly, anyone who begrudges her her success has to be very sadly agenda-ridden. It's got to come down to pure envy. I can think of few people who've achieved her success who've also remained so true to who they are and where they've come from.

Honestly, anyone who begrudges her her success has to be very sadly agenda-ridden. It's got to come down to pure envy. I can think of few people who've achieved her success who've also remained so true to who they are and where they've come from.

Hear hear!

bib: Including rants from Tory supporters, annoyed at the fact that Rowling is a Labour supporter

As I recall the Harry Potter books were going along very nicely until they were made into films. The films are what really made the HP franchise, JKR and all the dosh.

The HP books were pretty short before the franchise but after JK decided her works should be the length of War and Peace. Yes, it's that that kids read books but it still doesn't make me like JKR. Never have. The ruse to get her last book in the book charts was laughable.

The HP books were pretty short before the franchise but after JK decided her works should be the length of War and Peace. Yes, it's that that kids read books but it still doesn't make me like JKR. Never have. The ruse to get her last book in the book charts was laughable.

As I recall the Harry Potter books were going along very nicely until they were made into films. The films are what really made the HP franchise, JKR and all the dosh.

The HP books were pretty short before the franchise but after JK decided her works should be the length of War and Peace. Yes, it's that that kids read books but it still doesn't make me like JKR. Never have. The ruse to get her last book in the book charts was laughable.

Sorry but that's rubbish. The first 4 books were published before the movies were made. The Goblet of Fire had to have a special release date on a Saturday and simultaneously in the US and UK because the franchise was so huge by then they didn't want kids taking time off school to buy the latest book. It had a record-breaking first print run of 3.9 million copies. It was also twice the length of previous books. - all before the first film!

I'm not a fan of JKR's actual writing. I find it quite pedestrian and she has a lot of problems with pace etc (the last book was pretty bad) BUT I think she's incredibly clever. She was able to take elements of great literature and put it all together to make a hugely captivating and exciting world.

The detail she's put into Harry Potter's world is astounding and shows HOW MUCH work she put into this series - she didn't just churn out 50,000 words and hope it was a success. She crafted every detail of a world - animals, plants, history, names, mythology - and made it totally real for kids and adults alike. That takes real skill. If you don't think so, I suggest you go and try to do it yourself.

And then, once she becomes a multimillionaire, she doesn't just bugger off to a foreign country, keeping every penny of her money for herself and do nothing. She pays full taxes, she gives MILLIONS to charity, she is socially and politically active and tries to use her wealth, fame and power for the good of those struggling. I applaud that.

Sorry but that's rubbish. The first 4 books were published before the movies were made. The Goblet of Fire had to have a special release date on a Saturday and simultaneously in the US and UK because the franchise was so huge by then they didn't want kids taking time off school to buy the latest book. It had a record-breaking first print run of 3.9 million copies. It was also twice the length of previous books. - all before the first film!

I'm not a fan of JKR's actual writing. I find it quite pedestrian and she has a lot of problems with pace etc (the last book was pretty bad) BUT I think she's incredibly clever. She was able to take elements of great literature and put it all together to make a hugely captivating and exciting world.

The detail she's put into Harry Potter's world is astounding and shows HOW MUCH work she put into this series - she didn't just churn out 50,000 words and hope it was a success. She crafted every detail of a world - animals, plants, history, names, mythology - and made it totally real for kids and adults alike. That takes real skill. If you don't think so, I suggest you go and try to do it yourself.

And then, once she becomes a multimillionaire, she doesn't just bugger off to a foreign country, keeping every penny of her money for herself and do nothing. She pays full taxes, she gives MILLIONS to charity, she is socially and politically active and tries to use her wealth, fame and power for the good of those struggling. I applaud that.

Totally agree.

As I said before, her HP books aren't my cup of tea, but she still lives in the UK, she puts a lot back as far as charities are concerned. She's totally upfront with all she does.

As I said before, her HP books aren't my cup of tea, but she still lives in the UK, she puts a lot back as far as charities are concerned. She's totally upfront with all she does.

Not just charities , she was worth a billion but due to her tax bills she is now down to just under £700 million Now whilst I know that's still a hell of a lot of money it says a lot when one woman pays more tax to the Treasury than Starbucks and Google put together.

I've said before that it is amazing how black-and-white so many forum members here view the world and the complex individuals who form society. So many people seem so hard-of-thinking around these parts it's unreal.

Sorry but that's rubbish. The first 4 books were published before the movies were made. The Goblet of Fire had to have a special release date on a Saturday and simultaneously in the US and UK because the franchise was so huge by then they didn't want kids taking time off school to buy the latest book. It had a record-breaking first print run of 3.9 million copies. It was also twice the length of previous books. - all before the first film!

I'm not a fan of JKR's actual writing. I find it quite pedestrian and she has a lot of problems with pace etc (the last book was pretty bad) BUT I think she's incredibly clever. She was able to take elements of great literature and put it all together to make a hugely captivating and exciting world.

The detail she's put into Harry Potter's world is astounding and shows HOW MUCH work she put into this series - she didn't just churn out 50,000 words and hope it was a success. She crafted every detail of a world - animals, plants, history, names, mythology - and made it totally real for kids and adults alike. That takes real skill. If you don't think so, I suggest you go and try to do it yourself.

And then, once she becomes a multimillionaire, she doesn't just bugger off to a foreign country, keeping every penny of her money for herself and do nothing. She pays full taxes, she gives MILLIONS to charity, she is socially and politically active and tries to use her wealth, fame and power for the good of those struggling. I applaud that.